The Blacklist has returned from its final hiatus of the 2014-15 television season with one of its most exciting episodes yet. The shoow can manage to keep you in suspense, even as it comes back from its brief break, which ended on a cliffhanger. Of course, we all knew that Reddington wouldn’t die, but it was exciting nonetheless.
This week on The Blacklist: After Reddington is shot, Dembe and Agent Keen work quickly to get him to safety and save him from his bullet wound, and they enlist the help of Tom and another of Liz’s ex boyfriends. Meanwhile, Cooper puts the rest of the team on the task of finding Leonard Caul, at Reddington’s behest. Information on the fulcrum is finally revealed.
This week’s episode had me riveted. Of course, I was extremely upset when the previous episode ended with Reddington’s injury, but the even more upsetting part was the hiatus that followed. I wanted to know who had attempted to kill Reddington, and why. Lucky for me, all was answered in a relatively timely manner during this week’s episode. The Blacklist’s creative team has a way of making your heart pound that’s like no other. I was actually exhausted while watching the episode, but I could not have fallen asleep if I tried.
You’ll think it’s silly, but the absolute best part of this episode for me was the use of Dembe. This is the first time in a long time (maybe ever) that I’ve heard Dembe speak more than once or twice. Hisham Tawfiq is a talented man, so it only makes sense that they begin to utilize him better. It was previously announced that Tawfiq was promoted to series regular for next season, so I figured it was only a matter of time before they started using him more. However you see it, Tawfiq’s masterfully nuanced portrayal of Dembe has always been one of the favorite elements of the show for me. I was so excited to see him active and…you know…speaking.
Of course, one of the consistently great elements of The Blacklist’s second season is the triangle of lies, secrets, etc., between Tom, Reddington, and Liz. We are constantly learning new things about the relationships between the three of them, and it only becomes more and more fascinating. For instance, this week we learned that Tom WAS hired by Reddington, but was cut off from him as soon as he and Liz…ahem…”became intimate.” Then, Tom continued his relationship with Liz because (spoiler alert) he loved her. He took up with Berlin to save himself from Reddington. Now, I’ve had a lot of theories about this show, but that one is something I did not see coming. I assumed that Reddington had hired him with Berlin’s permission, or something like that. The whole scene in which Liz and Reddington discussed this information was brilliant. Megan Boone and James Spader did some great work there, and Ryan Eggold added a lot.
Along with all of the fascinating character work, there was more betrayal (poor Harold is going to be devastated) and some fantastic action sequences. There’s never much of a drop in action on this show, but I was especially impressed this week. Especially when injured Reddington used the doctor’s bright light to his advantage to fight the people coming for him. That whole sequence and its diminished noise were just fantastic.
This installment of The Blacklist was even more thrilling than most. We’re three episodes away from the end, but I’m not yet certain how they can top this one. It was a great episode, and I’m looking forward (in bittersweet agony, of course) to the final episodes of Season 2.
What about you? Did you enjoy this episode as much as I did? Let us know! Leave a comment!
The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
[Photo via NBC]
Follow Us
